The ailing King of the Purple Kingdom sat hunched on his throne, conversing with Tripitaka. Startled by the news of a healer, he turned eagerly to the Tang Monk:
“How many disciples do you have, Master?”
A Monarch’s Plea
Tripitaka replied respectfully, joining his hands before his chest:
“Three, Your Majesty.”
“Which of them has medical knowledge?” the king asked again.
Tripitaka answered:
“To tell the truth, they are all ordinary men without formal training. All they know how to do is hold the horse’s reins, carry the luggage, cross rivers, and guide this humble monk through the mountains. Sometimes, when we pass through dangerous regions, they can subdue demons and monsters, even tame dragons and tigers—that’s all. As far as I know, none of them knows anything about medicine.”
The king exclaimed, astonished:
“How modest you are, Master of the Law! If, as you say, none of them possesses medical knowledge, how do you explain that they have torn down my proclamation and now demand that I come personally to meet with them?”
Without waiting for a reply, the king issued the following order:
“Let the highest-ranking civil and military officials go at once and invite the Wise Sun to court to cure my illness. I would very much like to go myself to ask him, but my body is too weak and my strength completely drained—I cannot leave the palace. I want you to treat him with the utmost courtesy and always address him as ‘Honorable Sun.’ Greet him with the same ceremony reserved only for monarchs.”
The Monkey King’s Gambit
Without delay, all the imperial officials made their way to the Pavilion of Foreign Envoys, accompanied by eunuchs and palace guards.
As soon as they arrived at the residence, they lined up and paid their respects to Sun Wukong.
But the Monkey King remained impassive, standing in the center of the hall.
Once the ceremony was complete, the officials formed two lines and presented the following message to the Monkey King:
“We humbly inform you, Honorable Sun, that we are the most trusted officials of the Sovereign of the Purple Kingdom, who has sent us to greet you and respectfully request your presence at court so that you may heal him.”
“Why hasn’t the king come himself?” the Monkey King asked, finally standing up.
One official replied:
“Because he is so weak that he no longer has the strength to ride a horse or even travel in his carriage. That is precisely why he has sent us, his closest advisors, to honor you with the rites usually reserved for kings.”
Then the Monkey King concluded:
“In that case, I will accompany you.”
Wukong said to Sha Wujing and Bajie:
“You stay here and receive the medicines.”
“What medicines?” cried Sha Monk.
Wukong replied:
“The ones they’ll be sending us shortly. Accept them without protest and keep them until I return.”
A Royal Panic
As soon as he arrived at court, accompanied by soldiers and officials, Wukong was immediately led into the king’s presence.
“Who among you is the Wise Sun?”
“That old monkey before you,” replied the Monkey King, stepping forward.
Upon hearing his voice—hoarse as a ghost’s—and seeing his unmistakable thunder-god appearance, the king was so frightened he nearly fell off his throne.
His Majesty was so shaken that all he could say was:
“What a terrible fright! What a fright!”
They hurriedly led him to the inner chambers.
The king lay on his bed, so exhausted that he could only whisper:
“Order him to leave. I can’t bear to see any unfamiliar face near me.”
Discouraged, the official who had brought the message returned with his head bowed and announced to the Monkey King:
“Our lord orders you to leave the palace immediately, as he cannot stand to see any unfamiliar face near him.”
The Golden Thread Diagnosis
The Monkey King concluded:
“In that case, I’ll have to use the ‘thread-pulse’ technique to take his pulse.”
“We’ve all heard of that method, but we’ve never seen anyone actually perform it. We must inform His Majesty right away,” the officials whispered to each other in amazement.
The messenger entered the inner chambers again and said:
“My Lord, since you do not wish to see the master, he requests permission to take your pulse using golden threads.”
The emperor thought for a moment:
“All right, let him proceed.”
The official returned to the Monkey King and informed him:
“Our sovereign grants you permission to take his pulse using the thread-pulse method. Therefore, Honorable Sun, please enter the royal private chambers.”
Wukong set off at once. Soon he met the Tang Monk, who scolded him:
“Cursed monkey! Do you realize the difficult situation you’ve put me in?”
“How can you say that? I will bring you more honor,” Wukong replied with a smile.
Tripitaka asked, increasingly agitated:
“Will you tell me how many people you’ve healed during all these years you’ve traveled with me? You don’t even know the names of medicines, and as far as I know, I’ve never seen you reading a single book on healing. Don’t you understand that your recklessness will end up bringing disaster upon our heads?”
The Monkey King responded, still smiling:
“You clearly don’t know what I’m capable of. Believe it or not, I know certain herbs that can cure the gravest illnesses.”
The Monkey King followed the official along long corridors leading to the monarch’s private rooms. They stopped just outside the royal chambers, where the Monkey King handed the official three golden threads, saying:
“Pass each of these threads through the pulse points on the left arm of His Majesty and hand me the ends, so I may feel the pulse beats.”
He then applied pressure to the golden threads, varying from light to strong and back to light again, passing through a natural intermediate stage. This allowed him to determine the amount of vital energy still present in the patient’s body, as well as the causes behind its deficiency or abundance.
After completing all these procedures, he asked them to remove the threads from the king’s left hand and pass them to the right hand, so he could conduct further evaluations of the general condition.
Once this meticulous examination was complete, he shouted loudly, so the king could hear:
“In my opinion, your illness has been caused by anxiety and fear, and is a variation of the condition known as ‘the broken pair of birds.’”
The king cried out excitedly upon hearing this:
“That’s true! That’s exactly what’s happening to me! Go outside and prescribe whatever medicines you think necessary.”
Wukong then left the inner chambers and went toward the public area of the palace.
“What did you mean when you said the illness of our sovereign is a variation of the condition known as ‘the broken pair of birds’?” asked the senior officials, approaching him.
Wukong replied:
“Imagine two birds flying together—one male and one female—suddenly separated by a hurricane. The rain is so heavy that the male cannot see the female, nor the female the male. It is only natural that they miss each other deeply, and this longing makes them suffer more than anything else in the world. That is exactly what I meant by an illness known as ‘twin birds torn apart by storms’ or ‘the broken pair of birds.’”
“Extraordinary! Indeed, your medical knowledge is truly exceptional,” exclaimed the amazed officials.
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